Kings 3, Devils 2: Close but no cigar

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A few thoughts following a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings:

Jesper Bratt was a force

I usually give the nod to Jack Hughes as the best player on the ice. He generally creates so many opportunities on a shift-to-shift basis that he wins by default. But it was Bratt who was the driving force offensively – and best two-way player – against Los Angeles.

Bratt wasted no time getting the party started. On his very first shift of the game he put one on a platter for Yegor Sharangovich in a good spot. Yeezy didn’t capitalize but it was a solid opportunity.

Moments later Bratt snuck behind the LA defense and was sprung by a great feed from Damon Severson. As is generally the case, Bratt made the goaltender (Cal Petersen) look silly on a silky smooth finish.

Bratt was only scratching the surface. A couple shifts later he found Nathan Bastian on the doorstep for a great chance. Once again, his teammate failed to capitalize and – again – on the same shift Bratt took matters into his own hands, hammering home a one-timer for his 2nd of the night.

While Bratt wasn’t as lethal as the game progressed, he did create some more quality looks on net; Sharangovich had another good one and Jonas Siegenthaler nearly scored on a deflection play started by Bratt.